Scooper ‘Zon’ attended the “Melbourne On Screen” event at the ACMI in which Ghost Rider director Mark Steven Johnson and producers Bennett Walsh and Gary Foster talked about the anticipated film. Here’s what was talked about:

I just attended an information session on the Ghost Rider film being shot in Melbourne Australia in January 2005. The session was held at ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) and featured writer/director Mark Steven Johnson and producers Bennett Walsh and Gary Foster.

Amongst topics discussed were the long development process that the film had undergone, which was relatively fast tracked once Mark Steven Johnson came aboard the project and offered his take on the story. LA based company Imageworks was confirmed as the effects house for the production and the casting of Nic Cage was effectively confirmed, although apparently no official announcements have been made.

Johnson stated that he will be keeping as faithful to the comic book concepts as possible, while trying to make the concept of a demonic character fighting evil more plausible within the logic of his story. To this end, he is approaching the Ghost Rider as a “Bounty hunter for the Devil”, and he described the feel of the film as a modern day western with supernatural elements.

The story will feature the Johnny Blaze version of the Ghost Rider and will also feature Mephistopholes and Blackheart as villians, and was described as a “faustian” tale.

It was confirmed that CG effects will be used for the Rider character (no surprise given the flaming skull). Costume-wise the look of the Rider will continue to develop over the course of the movie, so we’ll get to see him in stunt-rider gear as well as the chains and spike look from the 90’s comics version.

The film will start filming in Melbourne on January 31 in locations around Melbourne and Broken Hill – including a stadium shoot – quite probably for one of Johnny Blaze’s stunt shows. An 80 day shoot is planned.